Nigerian troops free 62 hostages, kill two militants in northwest operations

MADUGURI, Nigeria, Jan 21 - Nigerian troops have rescued 62 hostages and killed two militants in separate operations across Kebbi and Zamfara states as part of an ongoing offensive against armed groups in the northwest, the army said on Wednesday.

The northwest has been hit by a surge in mass kidnappings carried out by armed gangs operating from forest hideouts. These groups have attacked villages, schools and places of worship, including the January 18 abduction of more than 160 worshippers from two churches in Kaduna.

Army spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Olaniyi Osoba said troops stormed a known bandit hideout in Zamfara after receiving reports that captives were being held there.

The army said all 62 hostages were rescued and are in safe custody, with efforts underway to reunite them with their families.

In a separate operation, troops ambushed Lakurawa militants near the border between Kebbi’s Augie district and neighbouring Sokoto after receiving intelligence on the group’s movements, Osoba said.

Nigeria has come under scrutiny from U.S. President Donald Trump, who accused the country of failing to protect Christians from Islamist militants operating in the northwest.

U.S. forces launched strikes against Islamic State targets in northwest Nigeria on Christmas Day. The Nigerian government denies any systematic persecution of Christians, saying it is targeting Islamist fighters and other armed groups that attack both Christian and Muslim civilians.

The army added that the operations form part of broader efforts to dismantle armed networks responsible for widespread kidnappings and insecurity across the region.

By Ahmed Kingimi, Reuters

Global oil price uncertainty cast shadow over Nigeria’s fiscal outlook

Nigeria has projected an oil price of about $64 per barrel and production of 1.84 million barrels per day. Analysts say those targets may be hard to reach. However, officials are more concerned about volatile global prices, which could come under pressure from a potential supply glut, particularly as the United States eases restrictions on Venezuelan oil sales.

CGTN Africa

NARD Warns Nigeria Could Lose More Doctors In Next Decade After Exit Of 15,000 Doctors

The National President of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), Dr. Mohammad Suleiman, has warned that Nigeria’s health sector is approaching a critical breaking point, revealing that more than 15,000 doctors have left the country since 2014, with 4,700 exiting in 2024 alone.

Speaking on Monday at the opening of a five day training on effective policy-making and strategic leadership for NARD leaders at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Suleiman said the trend, if unchecked, could see Nigeria lose another 15,000 doctors within the next decade.

“Facts don’t lie. Figures don’t lie. In 2024, 4,700 doctors left the shores of Nigeria. Every year we produce 2,000 to 3,000 doctors, yet we lost far more than we produced. If this continues, Nigeria cannot survive it,” he argued.

Suleiman painted a stark picture of the country’s doctor to patient ratio, noting that Nigeria currently has fewer than 30,000 doctors serving an estimated 240 million people, a ratio of roughly one doctor to over 10,000 citizens.

“This is not sustainable,” he warned. “In 10 to 15 years, Nigerians will walk into hospitals and find no doctors to attend to them,” he said.

He added that the association’s recent engagements with the federal government were driven by the urgency of preventing a total collapse of the health system. “These decisions are not easy. They are tough. But we take them because we know what lies ahead if nothing changes,” he stressed.

Suleiman emphasised that NARD is not presenting new demands to the government, but simply asking for the implementation of previously agreed policies that require no additional financial burden.

“These are agreements that won’t cost the government a penny,” he said. “Issues like membership certificates, employment processes, workload management, and local training policies — these are measures that strengthen the system, not just resident doctors,” he explained.

He expressed optimism that the renewed commitment between NARD and the government could avert future strikes. “If the understanding we have now is sustained, I don’t foresee any strike in the near future.”

Earlier, the Director General of NIPSS, Prof. Ayo Omotayo, commended NARD for prioritising leadership development and policy literacy, describing their presence at the institute as a sign of foresight.

He said the training would equip young medical leaders with the tools needed to engage constructively with policymakers and address the complex challenges facing Nigeria’s health sector.

By Yemi Kosoko, Arise

Related story: Doctors are leaving Nigeria in droves

Nigeria suffering from medical brain drain

Africa’s largest plastic recycler plans $60m mega plant to process 100,000 tonnes of waste in Nigeria

 

Polysmart Packaging Limited, one of Nigeria’s leading plastic recyclers, has announced a $60 million expansion to construct what it describes as the largest and most advanced plastic recycling facility in the country, a move that could reshape West Africa’s circular economy landscape.

The new plant, which will be developed in phases, is expected to begin operations by the end of March 2026, with full commissioning scheduled for July 2026.

Once completed, the facility will significantly scale up Nigeria’s capacity to process post-consumer plastic waste into high-quality recycled materials, including food-grade recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET).

The investment positions Polysmart among Africa’s most ambitious private-sector players in sustainable manufacturing, at a time when governments and multinational brands are under growing pressure to cut plastic pollution and carbon emissions.

According to the company, the facility will be equipped with world-class recycling technologies, including systems from Sorema and Tomra, as well as two Erema Vacunite units. These will enable the processing of multiple polymer streams, producing rPET resin and flakes that meet the standards of the European Food Safety Authority and the United States Food and Drug Administration, as well as non-food-grade HDPE, LDPE, and polypropylene materials.

“This is a transformative moment for Nigeria’s green economy,” said Wasiu Abolaji Balogun, managing director and chief executive of Polysmart Packaging Limited.

He described the $60 million investment as a commitment not only to infrastructure and technology but also to people, adding that the expansion is expected to generate thousands of direct and indirect jobs across waste collection, sorting, technical, and operational segments of the value chain.

At full capacity, the plant will process up to 100,000 tonnes of mixed plastics annually, making it the largest of its kind in the region.

Polysmart’s $60m investment could recycle 5.5 billion plastic bottles a year in Nigeria

Polysmart estimates that the expanded facilities could recover and recycle more than 5.5 billion PET bottles every year, diverting vast volumes of plastic waste from landfills, drainage systems, and waterways.

A major strategic goal of the project is import substitution. By producing certified food-grade rPET locally, Polysmart aims to supply a critical raw material to Nigeria’s food, beverage, and fast-moving consumer goods industries, reducing their reliance on imported virgin plastics and easing pressure on foreign exchange demand.

The company says the expansion will also contribute to a significant reduction in Nigeria’s dependence on virgin plastics derived from crude oil. By replacing them with high-quality recycled alternatives, Polysmart positions the project as a step towards a more sustainable manufacturing ecosystem.

From an environmental, social, and governance perspective, the new plant is projected to deliver carbon savings of up to 170,000 tonnes based on its planned capacity. These gains come from lower energy use, reduced emissions, and the reintegration of plastic waste into the production cycle.

Polysmart said it is working closely with federal and state environmental agencies to ensure the facility meets global safety and environmental protection standards.

Industry observers say the scale of the investment could strengthen Nigeria’s ambition to become a regional hub for green technology and sustainable manufacturing.

As plastic pollution continues to pose a growing challenge across Africa, projects of this scale are increasingly viewed as critical to balancing economic growth with environmental responsibility.

By Segun Adeyemi, Business Insider Africa

Nigeria police deny reports of mass church abductions in north

Police in northern Nigeria say reports that worshippers were abducted on Sunday from churches in Kaduna state were false.

In a joint statement with local government officials on Monday, Kaduna state police commissioner Alhaji Muhammad Rabiu described the information as "mere falsehood which is being peddled by conflict entrepreneurs who want to cause chaos".

Earlier, a local official in Kurmin Wali had told the BBC that gunmen had kidnapped dozens of people attending different churches.

There has been a series of mass kidnapping in Nigeria, where both Christians and Muslims have been targeted. Gangs frequently carry out such attacks to get ransom payments.


But referring to Sunday's alleged abductions Kaduna's police commissioner challenged "anyone to list the names of the kidnapped victims and other particulars".

The chairman of Kajuru local government area, Dauda Madaki, said security forces were sent to Kurmin Wali after reports of an attack, but found "no evidence of the attack. I asked the village head, Mai Dan Zaria, and he said that there was no such attack."

Police also quoted the state's commissioner for internal security and home affairs saying religious leaders visited the area.

''They found out that what was pushed out to the public sphere was completely false,'' he reportedly said.

However, a community leader in Kurmin Wali, Ishaku Dan'azumi Sarkin, had earlier told the BBC that armed men attacked the area on Sunday and kidnapped 177 people from three churches.

He said 11 people escaped, several others were injured, and no deaths were reported.


In November, more than 300 students and teachers were seized from a Catholic school. They were later released in two successive groups. It was among a spate of kidnappings that made international headlines.

Nigeria is facing numerous security challenges - including kidnappings for ransom by criminal gangs, an Islamist insurgency in the north-east, separatist violence in the south-east, and a battle between herders and farmers in the centre over access to land and water.

Experts say corruption, poor intelligence sharing and underfunded local policing have hampered efforts to tackle the various crises.

Nigeria's defence minister resigned last month at the height of the kidnapping crisis, officially for health reasons, according to the president's office.

The US has recently become militarily involved in Nigeria - launching airstrikes on Christmas Day on two camps run by an Islamist militant group in north-western Nigeria.

Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump warned of more strikes if Christians continued to be killed in the West African nation.

There are more than 250 ethnic groups in Nigeria, which is roughly divided into a mainly Muslim north, a largely Christian south, with intermingling in the middle - and the government says people of all faiths have been victims of attacks.

A Nigerian foreign ministry spokesman responded to Trump's warning by saying that Nigeria would continue to engage constructively with partners such as the US.

''Nigeria remains committed to protecting all citizens, Christians and Muslims alike, without discrimination,'' Alkasim Abdulkadir said.

By Makuochi Okafor, BBC